Bill calls for NH public high-schoolers to view animated abortions

Public schools would be required to show high school students animated videos of abortions under one of several bills on the procedure pending in the NH Legislature.

House Bill 662 sets out the specific “high-quality computer-generated” videos to be used, all produced by Live Action, a Virginia-based anti-abortion nonprofit.

Abortions are now allowed in New Hampshire up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. They are also permitted beyond that point in the case of fatal fetal defects or a threat to the pregnant woman’s life.

HB 662 would require that students be shown at least two of three animated videos listed in the legislation. One is a medication abortion in the first trimester. Another is a surgical abortion in the first trimester. The other shows the procedure in the third trimester.

Doctors narrate the graphic presentations.

Reproductive rights advocates strongly oppose HB 662, saying the videos amount to anti-abortion propaganda.

Rep. John Sellers, R-Bristol, the prime sponsor of the bill, said abortions are already discussed in health education classes, but feels a more specific focus is needed given the prevalence of the procedure.

Clinicians provided about 1 million abortions in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a Washington-based research and policy nonprofit.

Sellers said it’s important that people know exactly what an abortion entails.

“These are comprehensive, completely educational, well-done, non-political, non-religious videos,” he said. “There is nothing to hide.”

Former Republican Rep. Kurt Wuelper of Strafford, chair of NH Right to Life, spoke in favor of the bill, saying more women would opt against an abortion if they had more understanding of the procedure.

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“The fact is people in our country do not know what an abortion is,” he said.

In addition to HB 662, the Legislature is still considering HB 667, which would require public school pupils and public college students to view videos of ultrasounds showing fetal development. Also pending is HB 730, which would require school districts to educate students about adoption.

Planned Parenthood of Northern New England submitted written testimony against these bills.

“All three of these bills seek to push an anti-abortion agenda on teenagers and young adults across the state,” the organization stated in the testimony.

“These bills all seek to shame teenagers and stigmatize sexual and reproductive health care — and they have no place in the Granite State. New Hampshire students deserve to have honest, medically accurate, and complete information when it comes to making healthy lifelong decisions.”

Also pending are HB 191, which would create penalties for taking an unemancipated minor to get an abortion without parental permission, and HB 232, which would give health care providers the right to conscientiously object to providing abortion, sterilization or contraception services.

A bill that would have prohibited most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy was withdrawn on a 340-15 vote on Feb. 6 in the NH House. Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said that if the Legislature passes a bill more restrictive than the 24-week standard, she would veto it.

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Rick Green can be reached at 603-352-1234, ext. 1435, or rgreen@keenesentinel.com.

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.